Connecting pieces for connecting the wiper arm with the wiper blade are already known, for example from European Patent No. 0 863 058; however, the connecting piece presented there has a multipart construction, so that different adapter parts are used, partly according to the modular design system, for different wiper arms.
The connecting piece according to the present invention has the advantage that it can receive (accept) a multiplicity of standard types of wiper arm ends, and thus can also be used with a multiplicity of differently dimensioned wiper arms. In addition, it can be manufactured in one piece, for example, in an injection molding method, which results in a significant advantage during installation (assembly), because it is not necessary first to determine which adapter piece fits the wiper arm end in question. This is especially important in particular because, as a rule, the installation is carried out by the vehicle driver himself, i.e., by a layman, not an expert.
Due to the fact that the wiper arm end is constructed in the shape of a fork, there results a high degree of rigidity of the connection between wiper arm and wiper blade. In this way, the optimal angle between windshield and wiper blade can be precisely maintained.
A fitting adapter piece having a fork-shaped construction can also connect the connecting piece with a strip-shaped wiper arm end, as is standard for some wiper arms, without loss of rigidity.
If a region of the connecting piece is constructed as a flexible plateau an especially high dimensional tolerance is achieved. If the flexibility of the plateau is due to crosspieces that have an angle to the wiper arm of less than 90xc2x0, then when the connecting piece is removed from the wiper arm there results a self-arresting effect that further increases the strength of the connection between wiper arm and wiper blade.
Due to the fact that the flexible regions have stops for limiting the flexibility, a high degree of resistance to breaking is also ensured.
Through the clamp-type projections for arresting the wiper arms, a multiplicity of different wiper arms can be fastened securely to the wiper blade, since it is not necessary to use the arresting method used by the manufacturer of the wiper arm.